IC cards, which are often memory cards, are commonly constructed with a molded plastic frame. Front and rear connectors are mounted and/or molded into the frame, and top and bottom covers are mounted on the frame. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,207,586 and 5,244,397 show IC cards of this construction. If the number of parts to be constructed and assembled were reduced, the IC cards could be constructed at lower cost.
Under JEIDA standards, each IC card has a card length of 3.370 inch, a card width of 2.126 inch, and a card thickness of 0.190 inch. Accordingly, there is very little vertical space between top and bottom surfaces of the circuit boards and the top or bottom cover portions of the card. If the vertical height of the circuit board could be changed, a designer could leave about equal spaces at both surfaces of the circuit board to place a maximum number of thin components on both board surfaces. Alternatively, the designer could maximize the space on one board surface to accommodate thicker components on that surface, at the expense of eliminating moderately thick components on the other surface. If such choice could be made by the circuit board manufacturer who assembles the IC card, with the other components unchanged from a "standard" design, this would increase design choices for the circuit board manufacturer.